Clemson tasked with stopping Georgia's Gurley

The Tigers saw the running back's explosiveness first-hand last season when he broke off a 75-yard TD in a game Clemson came back to win.

By ERIC BOYNTONeric.boynton@shj.com

CLEMSON — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney mentioned Tuesday he still wakes up at times due to having dreams of Georgia running back Todd Gurley's 75-yard touchdown burst last year against his Tigers.His defensive coordinator, Brent Venables, acknowledged “plenty of sleepless nights with (Todd) Marshall and Gurley on the horizon” while also affectionately referring to the tailback tandem as “creatures.”Senior safety Robert Smith, the last man to dive at Gurley's ankles as he pulled away during the aforementioned scoring run off a right pitch early in the first quarter of Clemson's 38-35 victory, was asked Tuesday if he dreams about getting the chance to lay the perfect hit on Georgia's 6-foot-1, 232-pound steamroller.“That would be lovely, that would be nice, but I'm just going out there to make a tackle, just get him down on the ground. That's the whole idea and what we're all trying to do,” Smith said, before describing what it's like to actually try and make a hit on Gurley.“That's a real big boy. When you tackle him, it's like tackling a tree trunk.”Of course most guys built like a tree trunk don't possess breakaway speed and inside elusiveness like Gurley, who carried only 12 times for 154 yards against Clemson last year as he battled injuries throughout most of the game and, eventually, much of the season. He missed nearly four full games in rushing for 989 yards on 165 carries (about six yards per) with 10 touchdowns after a healthy freshman season when he went for 1,385 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on 222 carries.With a first-year starting quarterback and a bevy of injuries leaving the receiving corps in a state of mystery, Georgia figures to load up and ride Gurley for as long and far as it can, and he's plenty capable of carrying an offense on his broad shoulders if needed.“(Gurley) is a beast,” Swinney said. “The combination that he has … just the size, speed and strength. And I perceive him to be a great worker, he seems that way. He's got a big motor to him and he's just unique from a total package standpoint. Marshall is not far behind him, he just doesn't have some of the measurables that Gurley has. Other guys are unique for maybe one thing here or there, but Gurley is the total package. He's just a dynamic player.”Swinney pointed out that Gurley rarely gets recognition as a pass catcher, but had 37 receptions for 441 yards and five touchdowns last season. The coach compared the tailback to a few of the greats he's seen over his coaching career, recalling his days as an assistant at Alabama when the Crimson Tide faced the likes of Tennessee's Jamal Lewis and Ohio State's Eddie George. He remembered seeing George at a pre-game bowl function in street clothes and wondering how in the world anybody was going to tackle him: “I'm like, we're fixing to get our butts handed to us. He looked like a defensive end playing tailback. Just unbelievable.”Of course Swinney is confident his deep, talented and experienced front seven has the ability to keep Gurley in check, a battle that figures to have a major impact on the outcome. Clemson senior tackle Grady Jarrett said the full concentration on getting Gurley to the ground involves, “No arm tackles and get a lot of hats to the ball. He's a big strong back that you can't try to tackle him up high. It's all going to come down to winning at the point of attack, winning in the trenches.”Keeping Gurley under wraps for an entire game is an improbability, and Smith and his colleagues in the secondary will likely be called upon to come up and make some stops in trying to limit Gurley from the type of big run he posted last year in Death Valley, his career-long. That 75-yarder, like the other more bruising runs Gurley inflicted upon the defense, won't be forgotten, but also won't be a dwelling point.“You can't think about the past and you can't let what he did last year affect you, but you know what he can do,” Smith said. “We saw up close and personal what he can do. We don't forget, but we also don't let that hinder us from what we need to do this season.”Gurley's physicality and athleticism will ensure an abundance of weary Clemson defenders come late Saturday night, but whether bedtime is restful or restless remains to be seen.

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